The flashback was the latest installment of WMMO’s wildly successful Free Downtown Concert Series and the fans were the recipient of a night full of excellent rock music, big hair and Jordache jeans. On this night, the hair was a bit thinner, the jeans a little more snug, but the music just how we remembered it.

I arrived just after the Modern English set and missed the band that made it big with the iconic 80’s hit “I Melt With You.”

John Waite in Orlando

John Waite who frequently visits Orlando was back with his band and played hits spanning his entire career, in its many incarnations, over his hour long set. Waite who is now in his fourth decade as a front man still has an amazing voice and put on a great show. The Baby’s hit “Head First” immediately kicked the set into high gear, which also featured several other tracks from the band including “Midnight Rendezvous,” “Every Time I Think of You” and “Back On My Feet Again.”

The crowd was also treated to Waite’s huge hits “Change” and “Missing You,” and a great solo a capella singalong version of Bad English’s “When I See You Smile.” Two highlights for me were rollicking versions of “No More Mr. Wonderful” and the closing cover of Tina Turners’s “Sweet Rhode Island Red.” Great stuff from an iconic rock voice.

The Romantics Live in Orlando

The Romantics headlined the show and played a full set, featuring songs from the past 35 years of their career. The quartet is absent their original lead singer Jimmy Marinos, but their current line-up boasts the other three original members and the vocals still sound great. Wally Palmar takes over lead vocals on most songs and fills in admirably. He is joined by fellow original members Mike Skill on guitar and bassist Rich Cole. The set featured all of their hits including “First In Line,” “When I Look in Your Eyes” and a fun singalong version of “Talking In Your Sleep.”

The band also threw in two of their more punk-based offerings. “She’s Got Everything” had the crowd dancing in the streets,and a rocking version of “Stone Pony” featured powerful animated drumming from Brad Elvis. They closed their set and the night with the crowd-pleasing “What I Like About You.”

Kudos to WMMO, who continue to provide great free music to rock music fans of Central Florida. The new location at Amelia and Orange in downtown Orlando is also a nice improvement and the set-up with two stages was a great touch. Special thanks to WMMO radio host Elise Rossi for her help and support!

If you were at the show, let us know what you thought in the Comments section below, then please Like Us on Facebook and check out our photo galleries here:

For 2 hours, I could almost believe that I “might be” at a AC/DC concert. The band was loud and had plenty of energy to get the crowd’s fists pumping all night long. I was happy to hear “Thunderstruck” as the opening song and was not disappointed by the guitar showmanship. Everything from Hell’s Bells (with a smaller bell onstage) , to the firing cannons of “For Those About to Rock.”

The set list also included: “Big Balls,” “Have a Drink On Me” and my personal favorite “Whole Lotta Rosie.” So if you put up with the fact that their lead singers is a tad larger than the real Brian Johnson and the lead guitarist reminded me of my science teacher in high school, then I know you will be entertained all night long.

From the dramatic a cappella opening of “Dark Night” to their final acoustic version of “Learning” performed unplugged on the floor amidst their fans, Green River Ordinance provided an entertaining show to their Central Florida fan base at The Social.

Their robust set prominently featured cuts from their excellent 2012 release Under Fire (see our review here), as well as other selections spanning their decade long career. The polished quintet out of Fort Worth, Texas was making their long awaited return to Orlando, and played to a fairly full room.

The cozy Social stage was packed with a nice assortment of the band’s lighting, a second drum kit, and a slew of guitars. The sound and lights were excellent throughout the evening, definitely a nice set-up for the room. These guys are seasoned professionals. Lead singer Josh Jenkins split his time between guitar and keyboards throughout the show and was in great voice all night. The entire band, including brothers Jamey (guitar) and Geoff (bass) Ice is talented, and they play off of each other incredibly well – it’s a nice benefit of playing together for so many years.

Despite not playing Orlando in years, GRO drew a nice diverse crowd, most of whom were singing along to all of the band’s offerings. Jenkins is an engaging front man, who interacted with the fans all evening and often implored them to join in the singing, which they did gladly, particularly on “Healing Touch” and “On Your Own.”

“Love Laid Down” was the highlight of the night. The strong rocker started off by weaving in a nice version of “Amazing Grace,” featured Jamey Ice playing a sweet mandolin, and included a fantastic brief two man drum solo with drummer Denton Hunker and guitarist Joshua Wilkerson. It was a great spotlight on the breadth of talent in the band in a rare song that is both powerful and tender – great stuff!

Other highlights included “Outside” which was one of the night’s most powerful rockers, “Endlessly” another beautiful mandolin song that featured a nice singalong, and a rollicking version of “With A Little Help From My Friends.” The latter, appropriately featured the band pulling their talented opening act Nathan Angelo onto the stage to help out.

They closed the night with a nice touch, eschewing a cheesy encore and instead unplugging their equipment, jumping off of the stage into the crowd and offering up a totally unplugged version of “Learning” on the floor in the middle of their fans. It was a great way to end a nice night with these lads from Texas.

Set List
Dark Night
Crawling
Goodbye L.A.
Resting Hour
Outside
Where the West Wind BLows
Healing Touch
Love Laid Down
New Day
On Your Own
A Little Help From My Friends
Endlessly
Heart of Me
Under Fire
Dancing Shoes
Come On
Learning

New wave pioneers A Flock of Seagulls played an entertaining set at Hard Rock Cafe’s Velvet Sessions Thursday night. Founding member and lead singer, Mike Score brought the current rendition of the band back to Orlando, 30 years after the band experienced their greatest success as stalwarts of the early 80’s MTV Video generation.

They are often unfairly associated as a one-hit wonder (“I Ran”) when in fact they were talented musicians with a string of hits and a nice collection of solid rock tunes. On this night, we had a chance to experience all of those hits, as well as a few newly recorded tunes. Score, who now sports a cleanly shaven head instead of his infamous ‘Flock of Seagulls’ hair, still sounded much as he did back in the band’s prime.

Score spent most of the night playing his trademark keyboards, but also picked up the guitar for a few songs including “She Won’t Let You Down” and “Naked.” The first half of the set was relatively bland, but the band began to show off their musical prowess during a nice extended version of “Man Made.”

They closed the 70 minute set in grand fashion with five excellent tracks from their early catalog. The first four were predictable and just what the crowd was waiting for: “Telecommunication,” “Space Age Love Song,” “Wishing” and the encore “I Ran.” Then Score introduced a surprise finale as a “song I wrote back in 1979 when I didn’t know what I was doing,” and they kicked into their fun, punk cut “Messages.” A nice end to a fun flashback.

Over the past twenty years, Cowboy Mouth has developed a loyal following and a fantastic reputation as a great live act, but for some reason, they haven’t made the 600 mile trek from New Orleans to Orlando in quite some time. On Friday night, they were back in The City Beautiful and entertained the packed House of Blues with a powerful set.

Led by their charismatic and energetic front man, Fred LeBlanc, they left the thousand fans in attendance hoarse, exhausted and thoroughly entertained. RARA’s Farm brought almost twenty fans, most of them CM-virgins, and most were thoroughly impressed by the performance. “The name of the band is…”

LeBlanc is an anomaly in the rock music scene. He’s a drummer who’s also the band’s front man. His drum kit is tight against the front of the stage and is stripped down a bit, providing better sight lines and allowing him to better connect with the crowd. It sure is different, but damn, it works well. LeBlanc just reeks of charisma and instantly connects with the crowd. There’s plenty of call and answer, sing-along and hand claps, as well as a handful of surprises, such as LeBlanc pulling a talented young teen out of the crowd to join him on drums for a song.

Cowboy Mouth in Orlando

Their nearly two hour set featured twenty plus songs spanning their entire music library, including a few odes to their hometown New Orleans, most of their fan favorites, and a few tracks off of their new album, This Train. A few of the highlights included two covers, a crowd led rendition of Otis Redding’s classic “Amen” and “Sweet Child of Mine” featuring the vocals and lead guitar of Matt Jones.

John Thomas Griffith is the other original Cowboy Mouth band member, and is still hugely popular. He took lead vocals and dodged red spoons for the crowd favorite “Everybody Loves Jill,” and also dug deep in the band’s catalog for a fun version of “Here I Sit in Prison.” The band is rounded out by talented bassist Casandra Faulconer.

But, this band still revolves around the dynamic LeBlanc (read our review with Fred from earlier this year). He interacted with the crowd and had his ardent fans in the palm of his hand all night, as he offered up selections that spanned the band’s entire catalog, including “Easy,” “Disconnected,” “Take Me Back To New Orleans,” and their biggest hit “Jenny Says.” The highlight for me was a rousing version of the under-appreciated, “I Believe.”

For those of us in attendance, including RARA’s Farm’s band of first-timers, it was great dose of passionate, powerful rock ‘n roll from the talented band from The Big Easy. Hopefully, we’ll see them back in Orlando in the near future.

Rock On!
Cretin

If you have photos from the show, please visit our Facebook page and share: RARAs Farm Facebook

Glenn brought his blazing hot band, Neon Trees, back to Orlando’s House of Blues this weekend and they put on one hell of a show. With his magnificent voice, non-stop energy, peroxide-white hair and engaging personality, the flamboyant front man had the crowd in his hands the entire night, and absolutely blew away the packed house. He absolutely reeks of charisma, and has quickly become one of the most dynamic front men on the rock music scene. He exhibited traits that at times reminded me of Bowie, George Michael and Iggy Pop. Hard to pigeon hole Glenn’s style, but it is without a doubt something fresh and special.

Hailing from Provo, Utah, Neon Trees is riding a huge wave of popularity associated with the enormous success of their hit current single “Everybody Talks.” Their new album, Picture Show, is a strong release, and a nice follow-up to their excellent 2010 debut, Habits, but it doesn’t do justice to the sound of the band live. Glenn and his band mates are talented musicians and passionate show men (drummer Elaine Bradley is out after giving birth to her first child).

Their set was focused on the latest release, including the first two songs of the set which were also the first two songs off of Picture Show, “Moving in the Dark” and “Teenage Sounds.” Right from the start, we were treated to Glenn flying around the stage, vamping for the crowd and belting out pristine vocals. He interacted with the crowd all night and constantly held their rapt attention in the packed venue. Chris Allen on guitar and bassist Branden Campbell were overshadowed by the performance of Glenn, but were strong in their own right.

As the set progressed, we got to hear a handful of tracks off of the band’s superb debut album, including “Sins of My Youth,” and “Love and Affection,” as well as a nice extended version of “1983” which started with some fun dialogue between Glenn and the rollicking crowd and included a quick snippet of “Hand Jive.” Campbell’s bass dominated the song. It was followed shortly afterwards by the stark “Your Surrender” which Glenn played seated at his keyboard alone on stage. It was a well deserved respite for the magnetic front man who was drenched in sweat from his constant dashes around the stage and his powerful vocals. We also got a deeper look into Glenn’s roots, as he reflected on the decade long struggle to breakthrough and his revitalized relationship with his father.

Off of the new album, there were a few gems, including “Lessons in Love” and “I am the DJ,” which kicked off the encore. “Mad Love” which typically includes vocals from the absent Bradley, was the only part of the show that didn’t really work. The band brought out a young woman to sing the female part, but she clearly didn’t know the words. It was a bit forced and unusual, considering there were about a thousand other females in the crowd singing every word to every song.

Chris Allen of Neon Trees. Photo: RARA's Farm

“Animal” the band’s first hit off of Habits closed the set and ratcheted the audience into near frenzy. The crowd sang along throughout and had the house rocking. They pulled the band out for their encore “I Am the DJ,” and the crowd pleasing finale of “Everybody Talks.” It was the perfect end to a great show.

Twenty One Pilots and Walk the Moon (read the review here) put on engaging opening sets that had the crowd amped for the main event, and Neon Trees just kicked it up another notch.

Rock fans in Orlando had a chance to catch Walk the Moon, one of today’s hottest Alternative Rock artists, at the House of Blues in Orlando this weekend. The quartet out of Cincinnati is touring the country riding the enormous popularity of their current hit single, “Anna Sun.” The song has been kicking around the Indie music scene for a few years, but has recently exploded after being polished and re-released on their eponymous debut album on RCA Records.

The band’s sound is addictive pop rock with smooth harmonies and catchy lyrics. On this night, they played a short set, as the opening act for Neon Trees (see that review here). They were co-headliners on this tour, and by the time they hit the stage, the venue was packed to near sell-out capacity. It was apparent from the opening notes of their set that a good majority of the engaged fans were there to see Walk the Moon. The foursome who are known for painting their faces before performing found that there were a slew of fans who followed suit.

Lead vocalist and keyboard player, Nicholas Petricca is the focal point, but this is clearly a group where everyone contributes equally. Drummer Sean Waugaman and bassist Kevin Ray were the steady driving back bone throughout the energetic rocking set. The harmonies of Petricca, Ray, Waugaman and guitarist Eli Maiman were even better live than on the band’s debut release. Petricca interacted with the crowd all night, often getting their hands in the air and leading some cool rhythmic clapping. His unique voice sounded excellent live, and the remainder of the quartet’s music was tight and crisp throughout the show.

Nicholas Petricca of Walk the Moon. Photo: Rarasfarm.com

The highlight of the night was an extended version of ‘I Can Lift a Car,” a fantastic song that superbly showcases the bands’ musical abilities and which clearly highlights the potential for these Ohioans to be much more than a one-hit wonder. The youthful crowd sang along throughout the show and were bouncing and swaying during the entire set. For us more seasoned rockers, it was a nice treat to hear the band throw in an excellent cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” with a nice Walk the Moon touch.

As expected, the band closed with a rousing performance of “Anna Sun” raising the crowd to a fever pitch, with the entire house singing and dancing along. A great way to wrap up a passionate, albeit short set, from a band that proved they have what it takes to be a headliner their next time through Orlando.

With the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” cranking over the PA. Ted Nugent and his band exploded onto the stage at HOB in Orlando Sunday night. Festooned in his omnipresent camouflage cowboy hat, the legendary guitar hero tore up the stage on his Great White Buffalo Tour with a fantastic display of pristine guitar rock.

Nugent was his typical outspoken, entertaining self and absolutely on top of his guitar game from the opening notes of “Gonzo” throughout the entire 90 minute set. We were also treated to the reunion of Nugent and original vocalist/rhythm guitarist Derek St. Thomas, who has returned to the band after a long break. St. Thomas took the lead vocal on the second song’ “Just What the Doctor Ordered,” and sounded like he hadn’t missed a beat throughout the show.

Playing in front of a hug American flag and sporting a flag emblazoned Gibson for a few songs, Nugent is still a patriotic guy. He doesn’t hide his patriotism, nor his conservative political fervor: “The whole world sucks, but here in America it sucks a little less.” He bashed Obama all night to the point of distraction, actually reminding me of the annoying anti-Bush rants of Springsteen a decade ago. It would have been nice to have had him back off the preaching and offer up an extra song or two.

Wild “Mick” Brown (Dokken) on drums and Greg Smith on bass kept the Motown beat going all night. Smith took the vocals and showcased his bass playing on a nice version of “Need You Bad.” Brown, Smith and St. Thomas were the constant driving force, but this is truly all about Uncle Ted on guitar. Nugent traded off between a couple of his trusty Gibson guitars as he played in front of a wall of amps decorated with more than a dozen hanging guitars (as a well as a few machine guns). The guitar was loud all night, but those classic guitar riffs from “Wango Tango,” “Free For All” and some classic Blues and Rock flashbacks (“Cool Jerk”) were near perfect.

Nugent interacted with the crowd all night, and seemed to be having a great time, grooving to good old American Rock and Roll, with a Motor City Madmen’s Motown touch. He was his typical humorous, cocky self and just as over the top, as ever. He was truthfully a bit of an ass, but just as soon as his pomposity started hitting new levels “…don’t you just love me..” his guitar magnificence brought us back around.

At 63, Nugent hasn’t lost anything as a showman. He knows how to please an audience, and was all over the stage playing solo after solo to the delight of the packed house. A raucous “Cat Scratch Fever” closed out the set and brought the crowd to a fever pitch, which carried on through to the ten minutes of musical genius of the encore, “Stranglehold,” which is one of the most under-appreciated rock music masterpieces, and a timeless guitar song.

Overall, a fun night with a rabid crowd and one hell of a talented guitarist. “Don’t you just love him…”

Search Our Site

Choice Cuts from the Farm

Unleash your inner Rock And Roll Animal

RARA's Farm is always looking for talented writers and photographers. We do this as a passion for rock 'n roll, and sadly the compensation sucks, but the experience is great! Interested? rarasfarm at gmail dot com